


Actually Autistic

by The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Ableism, Autism, Chronic Illness, Internalized and externalized ableism, Nonbinary Character, Other, SiB, aac, autistic headcanon, meltdowns, spoonies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 08:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16154903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea/pseuds/The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea
Summary: A series of drabbles on autistic!Tenth Doctor and chronically ill!Master. Set after the End of Time and based on natalunasans’ work (The Best Fic Aunt There Ever Was.)





	Actually Autistic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [natalunasans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalunasans/gifts).



> NEW FIC! Excitement!

The Doctor curled up in their favorite chair, the mahogany upholstery feeling nice to rub their cheek against. They stroked their jaw against the stitches back and forth, back and forth.

Usually they wouldn’t be without at least two more things to focus on—their mind ran at a horribly quick (and frankly ridiculous) pace, Koschei said, and he was correct—but right now, the singular feeling of faux-leather against their face absorbed them completely. The whole universe had shrunken down to this particular sensation in the best of ways, slowing their brain down to a pleasant crawl through molasses… they didn’t even notice when Koschei walked in. 

Koschei watched them for a few moments before approaching. In his bent-up, worn-out body, he expended more time on observation than reacting, analyzing before jumping into anything. In this way, he prioritized the necessary over the unnecessary; they preserved their energy. It was another thing that they did that the Doctor noticed and didn’t say a word about… the peace was too comfortable to break.

“What are you up to, then?” he asked, nearing them. His voice carried none of the scorn he’d meant to inject it with, merely curiosity. Perhaps his theory was wrong?

Lifting their head, a bit of their hair flopped into their eyes. “Mm? Oh. Um… I… was just checking the, erm, the fabric, for its… tensility.” An eye roll on Koschei’s part dispelled this silliness right away, and they ducked their chin against their chest a little bit, looking oddly small against the large chair. 

“I don’t quite know why I’m doing what I am, all I know is that it makes things slower,” Ten said in a lame attempt at an explanation. 

Koschei gave a rather thoughtful nod even as Ten braced for his acerbic teasing. “I actually had a theory on that,” he smirked—a cat that got the cream couldn't manage to look more smug than he did in that moment. “I think your brain’s a bit broken.”

A scoff from Ten had him holding up a finger. “No, no, listen… I think you’ve got autism.”

Freezing, Ten whispered in a low, throaty, hoarse sort of desperation that required Koschei to lean in to hear. “You’re wrong.”

“No, no, I really don’t think I am. You’re disabled, Doctor,” he smiled nastily, eyes going wide when they began to tug and tear at their hair. 

“You’re wrong,” they moaned in a miserable sort of way, and Koschei knew when to back off. But apologies were rare currency, and he had to be careful not to spend them senselessly… so instead, he reached out and laid a comforting hand on their shoulder until their breathing began to level out. 

“Easy there,” Koschei soothed, as if talking to a writhing animal, “easy.”

Ten, overwhelmed by the switch in attitude and infuriated by the damnable pity in his tone, jerked away and did what they did best—they bolted.

Koschei watched them sprint off, a mean sort of grin curling his lips. Oh, this would be fun.


End file.
